Disturbingly high HIV prevalence rates in the transgender community have been tied to a number of transgender-specific risk factors, including work in the sex trade, needle sharing for hormone injections, and problems negotiating safer sexual practices; however, most HIV prevention programs are not designed with the unique needs of the transgender community in mind. To develop more culturally relevant and specific HIV prevention interventions targeting this population, further research on safer sex negotiation and the barriers to and facilitators of its use is needed. To this end, this study was designed to use a grounded theory approach to investigate the experiences of 40 trans-individuals with safer sex negotiation. Exploratory qualitative study designs are well suited to the examinations of the "individual, dyadic, community, social, and structural factors that impact HIV risk-reduction" deemed high priority by the NIMH. In this study, self-identified transgender individuals will participate in face-to-face, semi-structured interviews on safer sex behaviors and negotiation. Transcribed interview data will be analyzed using constant comparative techniques to achieve the specific aims of (a) developing a typology of safer sex negotiation strategies employed by trans-individuals, (b) describing the perceived effectiveness of those strategies, and (c) identifying the barriers to and facilitators of the use of safer sex negotiation and specific negotiation strategies. Long-term objectives include using study findings to develop interventions and quantitative measurement devices to assess HIV risk and to help stem the spread of HIV in the transgender community. Public Health Impact: In 1999, the American Public Health Association adopted a policy entitled, "The Need for Acknowledging Transgendered Individuals within Research and Clinical Practice." In keeping with these policy recommendations made to the National Institutes of Health, this study will explore an important HIV prevention behavior, safer sex negotiation, in an at-risk population that is virtually ignored by public health research. Results of this study will be disseminated to trans-community members and can be used to inform HIV education and prevention materials to promote and sustain behavior change in this community. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]